The 2024 presidential election has officially wrapped up, and students at South have a lot to say about it. Many seniors were eligible to vote this year and kept up with the polls. Divisive opinions were not hard to come by.
When asked who she voted for, senior Dacia Kieffaber stated that she “voted for Kamala Harris,” citing her tax policies and protection of reproductive health as reasoning for her choice.
On the other hand, senior Eric Shaffer emphasized that Trump “actually has economic policies that he was able to campaign on, [while] Kamala has almost none.”
Interestingly, both Shaffer and Kieffaber question Trump’s moral character, as Kieffaber said Harris is a “better person morally” and Shaffer stated that Trump is “not a great person by any means.”
The election was very personal for many voters, as they felt that the outcome could greatly impact the future of their own lives.
Former South student Stephanie Muckerheide said that she followed the election very closely because she’s “a trans woman, and it kind of decided [her] very livelihood.” Muckerheide added that she voted for Harris because “she won’t take away [her] medicine or discriminate [against her] in healthcare.”
Kieffaber added, “I just feel like what [Trump]’s advocating really just goes against who I am as a person.”
When asked about Trump’s victory, Kieffaber said that it’s going to take years to undo the damage that he’s going to cause. I’m honestly kind of frightened.” Muckerheide believes that “everyone is going to have a rough four years, except for the rich and morally bankrupt.”
On the other hand, some were optimistic about Trump’s victory. Diego Gonzalez, a junior, stated “my boy Donald Trump, W Donald.” Shaffer was also untroubled by the results, saying that Trump is “better for the country” as opposed to Harris.
Finally, there were some surprises regarding partisan turnout. Gonzalez thought that “Trump won by more than expected.” More specifically, he thought at least Michigan or Wisconsin would go blue.
Shaffer added that, “Trump winning the popular vote was surprising to [him], same with Trump winning all of the swing states.”
